Loved all the entries. Let’s do it again! We have an ALL NEW CARTOON PAGE! Beetle Bailey, Blondie and Zit will be gracing our NewsMagazine and your job will be to locate TOONS related to those cartoons! You already know the routine. TOONS are scattered throughout this issue. Count the related TOONS and TEXT the total number, with your name and phone number, to 405-631-5100. 1st and 2nd texter with correct number, WINS a free one year subscription to SN&L ($43.75 value each) PLUS a $25 gift card! 3rd place wins a $25 Gift Card! All entries will receive a free copy of our digital Flip Page Edition of SN&L each month (you must provide an email address)! Everyone’s a winner! TOONS are not hidden, but look in stories, ads and features!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Contest begins January 5th and ends January 31! No entries will be accepted prior to 01/05/24.

* No purchase necessary * Must provide email address for digital edition. * FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS – Even with more than 500 locations to pick up a copy, you just can sit back and wait for your personal
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By Marilyn Olson, Executive Director, VillagesOKC

VillagesOKC has exciting member and staff news as the New Year begins. On the staff side, there are two promotions to announce. On the member side, one member has accepted the position of VillagesOKC Director of Veteran Initiatives, and another will lead a monthly Alzheimer Support Group at the Bethany Library.
Amy Shirola, previously operations manager, assumes a new role as director of administration and finance. Britni Bergman, previously office assistant, becomes office manager. On the member side, Gary Banz is the new Director of Veteran Initiatives. Herb Magley will lead the Alzheimer Support Group.
Shirola will oversee all accounting functions, including analyzing financial data and managing budgeting and planning processes. She started working with VillagesOKC in March 2022 after 15 years in corporate accounting. Her entrepreneurial experiences include two food-based businesses – Pie Prerogative OKC and 2 Women and a Whisk Catering Company.
Bergman will oversee all office functions and vendor relations, as well as managing the robust VillagesOKC calendar. She has been the office assistant since November 2022. Her past experience includes six years in a variety of roles with Red Rock Behavioral and Mental Health Services in Yukon and Oklahoma City. Before coming to VillagesOKC, she was office manager for Sarah Libby Photography.
“The promotion of these two professionals highlights their exemplary performance,” said VillagesOKC Executive Director Marilyn Olson. “Ms Shirola and Ms Bergman are part of the organization’s long-term plan for sustainability. Having an intergenerational workforce brings energy and wisdom. And, with this organization there is great work flexibility which is so important to young parents. VillagesOKC is making great strides due to the talent and heart from these leaders, and we honor their success.”
Banz is a former Oklahoma state representative and high school social studies and American Government teacher. He was honored by the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame for organizing and serving as flight commander on 24 Oklahoma Honor Flights which took 2,055 Oklahoma World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans to Washington, DC, for an all-expenses paid day trip to visit war memorials. He has written and produced two documentaries honoring service members and is working on a third.
Magley is a retired geologist who spent 43 years working in the oil industry. Tragedy struck late in his career when after 35 years of marriage, his wife, Gail, developed Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 54. Magley retired from the oil industry to care for her. The couple went on an 11-year journey with the disease. After his wife died, Magley decided to dedicate his life to those who were on their journeys with Alzheimer’s. The VillagesOKC sponsored Alzheimer’s Support Group will meet monthly beginning January 16 at the Bethany Library. Meetings will be on successive third Tuesdays of the month from 6-7 p.m. in Meeting Room B.
To learn more about VillagesOKC, call or text (405) 990-6637 or email info@villagesokc.org.

Across
1 Concern when merging
10 Texas river diverted into the Red Bluff Reservoir
15 Museum download
16 Dippy
17 Stranger in many a family holiday photo
18 Cake made from ground nuts
19 “While I Was Gone” novelist Miller
20 Becomes, finally
22 “High Anxiety” actress
23 Say further
24 Corps member
26 Metered fleet
29 Treatment plant input
32 “The Cube” network
34 Delighted toddler’s demand
36 “Jinkies!”
37 Time worth studying
38 Gruff prescription for a minor injury
41 “Glad to hear it!”
42 Aspect
43 Branch of Islam
44 Org. whose members take hikes?
45 Mets slugger Pete who holds the record for most home runs by a rookie
47 Benefit
48 Irredeemable
50 Word of invitation
52 Cheese paired with kalamata olives
53 Do more than listen
56 __ diavolo sauce
59 #LiveUplifted sneakers brand
61 Arthroscopic procedure that may follow an MRI of the knee
63 McNairy of “Halt and Catch Fire”
64 Ride between runs
65 Buttonlike flower
66 Setting for some unboxing videos

Down
1 Some carpentry noises
2 Party with poke
3 Between jobs
4 Bupkis
5 Gave a shot, say
6 Efforts at resistance
7 Spot for a koi or a decoy
8 Ballpark figure
9 Emergency gear
10 Depression
11 Miso soup mushroom
12 Road show necessity?
13 Flirting with
14 Camille Pag n’s “Woman Last __ in Her Thirties”
21 “Your table’s ready” device
23 Warts and all
25 Relies (on)
26 Whoopi’s birth name
27 Drink often flavored with hibiscus
28 Aveeno product
30 Peer-to-peer sharing?
31 Add capacity to, in a way
33 French composer who influenced Ravel
35 Diet food choice
39 Some mechanical connectors
40 Dethrone
46 Egyptian god invoked in “The Magic Flute”
49 __ al pastor
51 Disinclined to form compounds
52 Media __: unplugged period
54 Sign of hollowness
55 “Proof” or “Doubt”
56 “Point taken”
57 Abounding (with)
58 Review-heavy newspaper section
60 Trough spot
62 Gp. central to the 1993 Oslo Accords

Abe Lincoln Trading Company Added to the National Register of Historic Places

North side of Main St. and 175 feet west of Clearview Rd., Clearview
Constructed c. 1903, the Abe Lincoln Trading Company was the main office of the Lincoln Townsite Company, which planned and developed the All-Black community of Clearview. The company sold groceries and building materials to townspeople and surrounding farm families. The building was pivotal for the establishment of the town; for several decades thereafter, various owners and tenants conducted business from the property to the benefit of Clearview. The Abe Lincoln Trading Company retains several character-defining features associated with early 20th-century commercial buildings, including a rectangular form, stone exterior walls with no ornamentation and a modest storefront with original fenestration. Such integrity enables the Abe Lincoln Trading Company to convey significance as a rare, surviving example of a commercial building associated with the All-Black towns movement in Oklahoma.
Funding for the Abe Lincoln Trading Company nomination was provided by an Underrepresented Communities Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service. This program works to diversify the National Register of Historic Places by funding surveys and National Register nominations of properties associated with communities underrepresented in the National Register.
Listing in the National Register of Historic Places is an honorific designation that provides recognition, limited protection and, in some cases, financial incentives for these important properties. The SHPO identifies, evaluates and nominates properties for this special designation.
The State Historic Preservation Office is a division of the Oklahoma Historical Society. The mission of the Oklahoma Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the history and culture of the state of Oklahoma and its people. Founded in 1893 by members of the Territorial Press Association, the OHS maintains museums, historic sites and affiliates across the state. Through its research archives, exhibits, educational programs and publications the OHS chronicles the rich history of Oklahoma. For more information about the OHS, please visit https://www.okhistory.org/.

by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer

Joella Francis credits God for leading her into a RN nursing career that has spanned over 50 years, including today at age 79, where she continues to work part-time at Pioneer Technology Center in Ponca City.
“I will be a nurse forever. I would never change my vocation,” she said. “I give all my credit to Jesus Christ because I’m a Christian, and so He has led me and guided me all the way. He gives me the ability to have, I think, a real love towards patients and people. I couldn’t do it without the Lord. I haven’t always given Him credit, but now when I look back on my life, I’m almost 80, I know He was there and guiding me all the way.
Francis’ nursing journey began at a young age.
“My grandmother on my dad’s side was a dietary aide at Wesley Hospital in Wichita, and I would go with her when she passed snacks to patients. I couldn’t go in the rooms, but I could help her get the snacks ready and be up on the floors when we passed them to the patients. That is where I got my first thoughts that I might want to be a nurse.”
Francis graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1966. During her education, she worked as a student nurse for OU Children’s Hospital for $8 per shift as a junior and $10 per shift as a senior nursing student. She met her husband Richard during her time at OU and they were married when she was a junior in nursing school.
After graduation, she worked for Children’s Hospital for approximately two years. Francis and her husband later moved to Norman where he attended OU.
“We moved to Norman and I went to work for Primrose Nursing Home. I worked there for about three years. After having our first child, I returned to the workforce for the Norman Public School as a practical nursing instructor. I was only there about a year, and then we moved to Duncan, and that’s where I did most of my nursing at the Medical Center Hospital in Duncan, which is what it was called then, she said.
Francis said she wore several hats working at Duncan.
“I did all kinds of things there,” she said. “I’ve been an educator, Director of Nursing. I was a house supervisor. I helped set up their first coronary care unit, because they were just being developed at that time. I think it was the early seventies. A couple of other nurses and I went to coronary care school for two weeks and then set up the system for the hospital. During that time, I had two more children. I continued to work full-time, but because of family obligations, I worked nights in ICU, ER and supervisor for several years. I also started to do some part-time teaching at Red River Technology Center as a practical nursing instructor.”
Francis said they were in the homebuilding business in Duncan, and when the oil bust came in 1985, they moved to Texas.
“I worked in an ICU in San Marcos during that time,” she said. “We then moved to McAlester due to my husband’s job. I went to work at McAlester Hospital in ICU and then I worked for Kiamichi Technology Center as a practical nursing instructor.”
Due to better job opportunities, they decided to move back to Duncan where Francis became the Coordinator for the Practical Nursing program at Red River Technology Center.
“Because of our children being college age, we moved to Stillwater and I then began working at Meridian Technology Center as a practical nursing instructor,” she said. “We moved to Connecticut for my husband’s job and I went to work for a large nursing home facility as a nursing educator.”
Francis said during that time, her parents who lived in Braman needed care as her dad was very sick.
“On my way home to Ponca City, my daughter called me and said there was a Practical Nursing Coordinator job at the Ponca City Pioneer Technology Center,” she said. “I worked there for about 10 years as the Practical Nursing Coordinator and retired in 2010.”
Francis didn’t stay retired long.
“I stayed off for about three years, and then (Pioneer Technology Center) called me,” she said. “Because I have nursing home experience and was an RN, they needed someone to check off nurse aides testing skills. They have to do a skills checkoff, and they need somebody to come and do their skills checkoff testing. I’m still working, but it’s like every other month. Sometimes I work three days, sometimes it’s two days. It depends on how big their nurse aide class is.”
Francis said one of her joys from nursing has been taking care of patients.
“I’ve always loved nursing. I love taking care of people. I love being with students and patients together,” she said. “My favorite thing besides just being a plain old nurse, was to be with the students and with their patients and helping them learn, and see students grow in their knowledge and see students pass their boards. It is a joy to see young ladies or gentlemen, who thought they couldn’t do anything in this world become very good Practical Nurses.”
Francis said she enjoys being a mentor to nursing students.
“A lot of them go on and get their RN, so I feel like I’ve been an instrument in helping them to realize that life is out there for them, and they can do things,” she said. “I’m very proud of my students that I had because a lot of them didn’t think they could do anything when they came to our school.”
Francis turns 80 in March, and has no plans to slow down anytime soon. She has just completed her CEU’s required to renew her license in March.
“I don’t ever consider myself an old lady, but I know I am,” she said. “I don’t ever see myself as that, because I stay very active in what I do. That’s another reason I like to work. I help with art in the Christian school at our church. I stay very, very active. I have many hobbies, 13 grandchildren to love, I do not plan to slow down yet. I give all that credit to the Lord for giving me good health.”

Wade Vlosich

OKC Veterans Administrator Healthcare System director.

Story by Van Mitchell, Staff Writer

The Oklahoma City Veterans Affairs Oklahoma City Healthcare System has become the fastest-growing VA in the nation, according to Fiscal Year 2023 statistics.
Wade Vlosich, OKC VA HCS director, attributes the rapid growth to community engagement and outreach efforts, particularly to isolated Veterans.
“Many Veterans are not sure if they are eligible for VA healthcare,” Vlosich said. “We have traveled to remote locations to personally reach out to our Veteran population and provide answers to their questions through our PACT Act resource fairs.”
In August and September of this year, Vlosich said OKC VA averaged about 22 new registrations a day.
“Overall, this fiscal year, we saw 13,994 first-time users, which was 18 percent of our overall users within the Oklahoma City VA,” he said. “That is about a 20 percent increase over the last four years, when most other VA facilities average between 1-3 percent annual growth.
Vlosich said keeping up with established patients with so many new patients coming in presents a challenge, but the facility is also expanding and growing to meet all satisfaction and clinical care needs.
With new equipment arriving and construction constantly happening, Vlosich is often seen in scrubs instead of a suit as he inspects new specialty and construction areas throughout the downtown facility.
Expansion is the primary focus for this health care system which includes Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC). The VA now has two clinics in North OKC, including one that provides dental care.
VHA implemented these clinics to make access to health care easier. These clinics provide the most common outpatient services, including health and wellness visits, without the hassle of visiting a larger medical center. VHA continues to expand their network of CBOCs to include more rural locations, making access to care closer to home. One of its newest rural clinics is in Shawnee, OK.

“Oklahoma City (VA) has grown by 22 percent total since 2019,” Vlosich said. “We’re growing so rapidly, and we’re trying to build all these new clinics. For instance, new clinics are pending approval to be built in Woodward and we’re expanding our Stillwater and Yukon clinics.”
Another area of growth is occurring among this facility’s female Veteran population. Expanded services for women now include a mammography clinic and plans to build a new women’s only stand-alone clinic.
Other plans include securing facilities for inpatient services, substance abuse treatment and long-term care as well as opening a Fisher House for Veterans’ families.
Vlosich said the VA has acquired the former Norman Specialty Hospital near the corner of Robinson Street and Berry Road to convert into a new VA hospital, and is redesigning the facility to meet both the inpatient substance abuse and skilled nursing facility building requirements.
The new hospital will have 53 beds — 26 for skilled nursing, and 26 for inpatient substance abuse treatment — and serve up to 78,000 veterans who live in the Oklahoma City area.
The 26 substance abuse beds will be used for the highest level of rehabilitation services for patients who are diagnosed with alcohol or drug addictions or substance use disorder.
“One of the things that some of our younger and older veterans face is substance abuse treatment issues,” Vlosich said. “We’re building a substance abuse treatment facility in Norman to help with that. There are none in the state of Oklahoma right now.”
Vlosich said homelessness with Veterans is a growing problem in Oklahoma.
OKC VA HCS previously launched a mobile medical unit to treat the homeless population and even established their own ambulance service.
“We’ve got a great homeless program here in Oklahoma City,” he said. “We are the second VA in the nation to get a mobile homeless van. We call it MMU, Mobile Medical Unit, and they travel around different areas providing healthcare to homeless veterans at their homeless camps or the homeless shelters because a lot of them don’t want to come in, they have mental health issues or other things. We’ll drive out there and provide medical care to our homeless veterans and bring the van back in.”
Vlosich said the OKC VA HCS continues to work with the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Programs to expand their capabilities.
The goal of OKC VA HCS leadership is to eliminate Veteran homelessness by providing shelter, transitional and permanent housing to Veterans to those who need it the most. Some examples are providing employment and different legal services through the Veterans Justice Outreach program.
Throughout 2022, VA staff helped Veterans find permanent housing such as apartments or houses that Veterans could rent or own, often with a subsidy to help make the housing affordable. VA staff also helped some Veterans end their homelessness by reuniting them with family and friends.
Vlosich said Veterans have another tool with the VA Health Chat which allows Veterans to immediately connect with VA health care clinicians over text-messaging.
The VA Health Chat App provides easy, online access to chat with VA staff when you have minor health questions, want to schedule an appointment, have a non-life-threatening health concern, and more.
“We’ve instituted an app now that if you need to talk to somebody in our community care office, you can go online and chat with them through the app as opposed to spending 30, 40 minutes on the phone. It’s easier,” he said.
Vlosich said the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act is one of the largest VA Health Care expansion programs and extends eligibility for Veterans who have been exposed or possibly exposed to toxic environments while serving in Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras.

Over the last year, Indian Health Service (IHS) and The Department of Veteran Affairs have partnered together, holding PACT Act outreach events across Oklahoma. This joint effort has assisted Tribal, non-Tribal Veterans, and Veterans in rural areas to receive healthcare services, education, and other benefits they deserve.
Vlosich said hiring fairs and recruitment incentives have helped bring new employees on board.
“On average, we’re bringing on about 30 to 40 staff members every two weeks just to meet demand,” Vlosich said. “We’ve added new primary care teams for most of our community-based outpatient clinics.”
Vlosich also acknowledged the efforts of current employees during this season of growth. He said OKC VA employees have stepped up to meet Veterans’ needs.
“They’ve worked overtime,” he said. “During COVID, we had employees spending the night in the hospital just to take care of our Veterans. We appreciate their dedication because, without them, many could go without healthcare, and our Veterans are our most precious resource.”
For more information on the PACT Act see the press release on page 11.

Albert “Al” Hair

(Right) 100 years old. WWII Veteran Wm. Albert “Al” Hair of Ada was born on August 22, 1922. After the war, he worked for IBM & Boy Scouts, ultimately ending up in Chickasha where he worked for Washita Valley Community Action Agency & became a self-employed carpenter & painter.

Wilma Marie Goodwin

(Left) 100 years old. Wilma Marie Goodwin of Enid attended Enid Business College & was a bank teller. She has 6 children, 12 grandchildren & 20 great grandchildren. She enjoys the good food & family being together. Fried chicken is her favorite food. Her words of wisdom to younger people: “Have the Lord in your life and love your family!”

Hattie Powell

(Right) 100 years old. Hattie Powell lived most of her life in Beggs & celebrated her 100th birthday in Tulsa today. She graduated from Beggs HS, worked OSU Extension nutritionist & library assistant at Beggs schools. Her words of wisdom to younger people: “Be honest with yourself and others. Respect yourself and others. Recognize & acknowledge your faults & work to correct them. Obey God!”

Eula Mae Stewart

(Right) 100 years old. Eula Mae Stewart of Yukon was born on the 15th of December, 1923. She graduated from Red Oak High School and from secretarial school in Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Eula Mae had a 30-year career as an administrator with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, retiring in 1989. Her words of wisdom to us are: Know that Jesus Loves You and Learn to Depend on Him. Respect Your Parents and Authority.

By Theresa Green

It’s the season when we talk a lot about miracles, and one Oklahoma woman will tell you she is living proof they exist.
Vickey McDonald, 62, spent more than half a year hospitalized.
“I had two heart attacks, seven surgeries, spent almost seven full months in the hospital,” she said.
Her prognosis was grim. McDonald says she was told by doctors at the hospital in February that it was unlikely she’d survive.
“It was very grave, yes. She was given really no chance of survival at all. Pretty grim,” said Tracy Bates, a nurse practitioner with Valir PACE.
Doctors at the hospital planned to send her home on hospice care, but McDonald chose a different path, enrolling instead in an all-inclusive care program called Valir PACE. It is a holistic program of care that offered help with her medical, therapy, dental, transportation, home care and other needs. It all sounded too good to be true.
“At first, I was like, this is not for real. You got to be kidding me,” she said. “But then I realized they really do everything that lady said they would do. They really do.”
Now, several days a week, you will find McDonald hard at work in the physical and occupational therapy clinic at PACE in downtown Oklahoma City.
“She’s one of the hardest workers I know in therapy,” said Kirsten Paschal-Wilson, Valir PACE Therapy Manager. “She wants to be there. She shows up. She puts in the work, and it doesn’t stop at therapy. When she gets home, she keeps putting in the work because she loves her life. She loves to live it and she’s going to do it independently.”
It’s more than just therapy, though. McDonald is seen regularly by the team of health professionals in the PACE clinic too.
“Just seeing her be able to walk out the door and walk back in on a regular basis. A year ago, for sure, I don’t know that would have happened,” Bates said. “She’s very determined to do the very best she can do as long as she possibly can. She’s a fighter – 100 percent a fighter.”
McDonald’s is a story of sheer grit, determination and what many, including her health team at Valir PACE, might call a medical miracle too.
“It’s hard not to get emotional,” said Bates, her eyes welling with tears, “because it shows that I am where I need to be.”
And McDonald says clearly so is she.
“Went to my doctor in August for my six-month check-up. He said, ‘Let me explain it to you. When you left the hospital in February, you had a zero percent chance of survival. So whatever you are doing, you need to keep doing it.’”
The grandmother of 10 is determined to keep doing just that, working hard to get healthier, to continue to live life independently and to prove wrong those doctors who gave her no chance of survival just ten months ago.
“She swears up and down that she wouldn’t have doe it without PACE,” said Paschal-Wilson, “But I don’t think she would have done it without herself either.”
“Life is a gift. My family is so precious to me and I’m thankful that I am able to spend more time with them. I thank God every day for Valir PACE. I’d sing it from the rooftop if I could sing,” McDonald said, adding with a chuckle, “When I get my voice back, I might do that.”

Good news: This year’s flu vaccine appears to be particularly effective at preventing severe cases.
Bad news: Only about 40% of Americans eligible for flu shots have received one.
More good news: There’s still time to get protected before the virus peaks in Oklahoma, said Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation physician-scientist Hal Scofield, M.D.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza affects, on average, about 8% of the U.S. population each year. The virus annually kills about 35,000 Americans and sends another 450,000 to the hospital. Young children, people 65 years and older, and those with chronic medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes are at greatest risk of severe disease.
“In the Southern Hemisphere, flu season runs about six months ahead of ours, which provides us with a window into the severity and most common strain as well as the effectiveness of the vaccine,” said Scofield, who also is associate chief of staff for research at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center.
“This year, the vaccine appears to be a great match for the virus,” Scofield said. “Although complete data isn’t available yet, Australian health authorities reported that this year’s vaccine significantly reduced the risk of ending up in the doctor’s office from the flu.”
According to the CDC, pharmacies and doctor’s offices had administered about 51 million doses of adult vaccine as of Nov. 25 – 13% below the same time last year. Similarly, the percentage of U.S. children who had received flu shots through early December was lower than at the same time for the past four years.
A survey conducted in August by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found 65% agreement among American adults that an annual flu shot is the best prevention, yet 43% didn’t plan to get one or were unsure if they would get one this year. Among those in the latter group, 32% cited concern about side effects.
The most common flu vaccine side effects are soreness, redness or swelling at the injection site, and sometimes, low-grade fever. But, according to OMRF Executive Vice President & Chief Medical Officer Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., none of this is cause for alarm. “It’s your body developing protective immunity, and compared to contracting the flu, it’s nothing.”
James added that many fear getting a flu shot can cause the flu.
“The vaccine is made from proteins, not the virus,” said James, a member of the National Academy of Medicine and chair of OMRF’s Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Research Program. “It isn’t possible to get the flu from the vaccine.”
She noted that the flu vaccine typically reaches full effectiveness in two weeks. As of the first week of December, Oklahoma flu activity is low, but increasing. According to the CDC, flu rates are high in neighboring states of Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, and rising in Arkansas.
“Vaccination is your best defense, along with practicing smart health hygiene,” James said. “Stay home if you feel ill, wash your hands frequently and cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough.”